Human Motivation - Productivity in Manufacturing

I am researching information pertaining to motivational theories in the workplace, specifically a manufacturing production area.

1) How do various strategies affect productivity in a manufacturing production area? Specifically a high tech environment where the employees load/unload and operate tools. They monitor the tools and respond to any problems by implementing established trouble shooting procedures.
2) What efforts can management offer to improve?
3) What would examples of employee resistance to increasing productivity and management's philosphy of motivation and practices.

Then I am trying to find 3 motivational theories and how they could motivate production workers and why.

Solution Preview

Research shows that motivation is the force that energizes, directs and sustains behavior. This definition implies that motivation is a sustained state. The way to find the 3 best motivational theories is to PUT YOURSELF IN THE PRODUCTION WORKER'S SHOES. What would you want as a motivator to work? Some more questions to ask yourself about this project is:

What motivates people to work in the first place?
What motivates production workers (in the USA, or in the country you are basing this report on)?
Why are they "production workers"...there is a reason why they work in their chosen field?
Is it money and material gains?
Or is it the need for interpersonal interactions, or both?
Is it the need to feel needed, or a need to feel powerful?
Or is it an interaction of all of these factors and more?

If increased motivation leads to increased work and increased output, then insight into what the motivators are is obviously going to be useful to industry and commerce. The many theories of work motivation can be linked into three categories:

o Reinforcement theories
o Need theories
o Cognitive theories.

With production workers, Each of the theories of motivation have obvious implications for improving motivation, but you can consider choosing one or a combination thereof, such as:

* Clay Hamner's theories of reinforcement and contingent management.

One of the main criticisms of Skinner's theory as applied to the workplace is that it does not explain how behavior occurs originally, in order for it to be reinforced. Hamner ...

Solution Summary

Almost 1000 words looks into motivational strategies, including management effort, recommendations and examples of employee resistance.